2015 Retrospective and Recent Developments in HR Law: Federal

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Philly SHRM Webinar

This webinar, “2015 Retrospective and Recent Developments in HR Law: Federal” will address current legal updates on a national scale. The panel will address several developments, including:

Recent guidance and opinions from the National Labor Relations Board

Unions – what do employers need to know about the recent NLRB changes that impact how they interact with union employees

Independent contractor issues – the August 2015 decision by the NLRB determined that Browning-Ferris Industries is a joint employer with the staffing agency that supplied employees for various functions – we will discuss the practical business implications

NLRB press release August 27, 2015

In a 3-2 decision involving Browning-Ferris Industries of California, the National Labor Relations Board refined its standard for determining joint-employer status. The revised standard is designed “to better effectuate the purposes of the Act in the current economic landscape.” With more than 2.87 million of the nation’s workers employed through temporary agencies in August 2014, the Board held that its previous joint employer standard has failed to keep pace with changes in the workplace and economic circumstances.

In the decision, the Board applies long-established principles to find that two or more entities are joint employers of a single workforce if (1) they are both employers within the meaning of the common law; and (2) they share or codetermine those matters governing the essential terms and conditions of employment. In evaluating whether an employer possesses sufficient control over employees to qualify as a joint employer, the Board will – among other factors — consider whether an employer has exercised control over terms and conditions of employment indirectly through an intermediary, or whether it has reserved the authority to do so.

In its decision, the Board found that BFI was a joint employer with Leadpoint, the company that supplied employees to BFI to perform various work functions for BFI, including cleaning and sorting of recycled products. In finding that BFI was a joint employer with Leadpoint, the Board relied on indirect and direct control that BFI possessed over essential terms and conditions of employment of the employees supplied by Leadpoint as well as BFI’s reserved authority to control such terms and conditions.

Real impact of the case of Young v. UPS regarding pregnancy discrimination in federal law context.

The Question and Answer portion of this webinar will be open to address other issues on the national legal spectrum.

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About the Panelists:

Heather Herrington is the Assistant Litigation Department Chair at Jacobs Law Group. Her primary areas of practice are complex commercial litigation, complex civil litigation and labor and employment matters.

Ms. Herrington earned her juris doctor from Temple University School of Law in 2004 and her Bachelor of Science degree, cum laude, in 2000 from Marist College. She is admitted to practice in the state courts of Pennsylvania, as well as the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Following her graduation from Temple, Ms. Herrington served as a judicial clerk with the Honorable Annette M. Rizzo in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas during which she coordinated hundreds of motions in the Civil Motions Program and assisted Judge Rizzo during civil jury trials. Immediately prior to joining the firm, Ms. Herrington was an Associate with Rawle & Henderson, LLP where she assisted in multiple jury trials involving the defense of a wide range of high-exposure, catastrophic injury cases on behalf of doctors, national corporations, as well as local businesses. The types of cases ranged from industrial and construction accidents to commercial motor vehicle accidents as well as defense of medical malpractice cases. Ms. Herrington also has experience at two other Philadelphia area law firms litigating in the areas of toxic tort, employment law and coverage litigation.

Heather has been named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Star each year since 2010, placing her in the ranks of the top 2.5 percent of attorneys in Pennsylvania 40 years old or younger. Ms. Herrington graduated to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list in 2015.

Jennifer Platzkere Snyder, of Dilworth Paxon LLP, represents public and private sector employers in addressing all aspects of labor and employment law, including traditional labor-management relations, employment discrimination, sexual harassment, restrictive covenants and trade secret disputes, whistleblowing, executive employment agreements, wage and hour audits, personnel policies, reductions-in-force, and employee discipline and discharge matters. She provides practical guidance to employers on avoiding litigation risks where possible, and aggressively litigates disputes before federal and state courts, administrative agencies and arbitrators. Jennifer earned her J.D. from Villanova University School of Law and her bachelor’s degree from University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business.

Samuel M. First serves as Labor and Employment Chair at the Jacobs Law Group. He has over 20 years of experience representing private and public sector employers in all aspects of labor and employment law. He represents and advises clients, both large and small, in employment discrimination matters, non-compete, non-solicitation and trade secret disputes, executive employment agreements, employee termination and disciplinary matters, reductions in force, severance arrangements, wage and hour laws, personnel policies and practices, issues affecting unionized workforces, and the complex web of federal, state and local laws governing the workplace. In addition, Mr. First regularly represents clients in business/shareholder disputes and other business transactions.

Mr. First is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey as well as the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

This webinar has been approved as a distance learning course for 1.0 Pennsylvania substantive CLE credit. Pennsylvania attorneys may earn 1.0 substantive CLE credit for participating in this webinar for the entire hour presentation. CLE credit for attorneys licensed by other states will be considered upon request at the conclusion of this webinar. Please download and complete the following forms and email them to info@phillyshrm.org to request CLE credit: